First Impressions
The Rubicon is a lot of ball. It could easily be a top line piece in my mind with a good amount of usability. Never feels like it’s going to blow through the spot.
Let me introduce our new partner Haley’s Pro Shop. A big thank you to Jeff Miller and Ron Hoppe. Don’t forget to check out Haley’s Pro Shop for world class drilling and coaching!
Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 375 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 40 x 4.5 x 35
Sean Jensen (Righty)
Style: Power player
RPM: 475 rpm
PAP: 5 1/2 & 1/4 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 60 x 5.5 x 50
“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”
Pattern
THS: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: Kegel Arsenic 41ft, 27 ml, 1.3:1 ratio
Specs
The Roto Grip Rubicon uses the Rondure™ Core (Asymmetrical) inside the eTrax-S20™ Solid coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .052, .011 mb
14 pound = RG of 2.53, diff of .052, .009 mb
Coverstock finish: 3000 grit pad
Overall
Here we go with a new HP3 line ball for Roto Grip. As usual, they punch above their weight. The Rubicon is plenty ball. The eTrax-S20 cover has plenty of traction, more so than the eTrax-S19 on the Idol Pro. It never feels like the ball is going to blow through the spot. It’s a ball you can trust in that regard. Just keep chasing in until you find the angle and board coverage you need. It’s a relatively mild asym and it shows. It blends the characteristics of a drilled sym and asym in the sense that it has a strong change of direction but is still fairly continuous. I had to find a spot between the 3rd and 4th arrow. I honestly felt like the Rubicon is stronger, way stronger than I need on this medium house shot. I was having some wrist pain so had too much axis rotation which made it particularly hard off the spot so it looks very angular and in truth it is capable. So I never had an issue of it not hooking enough. I just needed to keep moving in until I found it. There was a point where I could break it enough to lose carry with flat 7s. Again I think this is a function of using too much axis rotation. But as always, when you think about putting a ball in the bag, you need to consider your game and what you bowl on. I started to think this ball is as strong as the UFO. In truth, the UFO probably has more natural traction with the Micro-Trax while the Rubicon has more responsiveness with the eTrax. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but think if I could effectively have both of those balls in my bag or not. I don’t see the Rubicon relating at all to the Idols other than they are all round bowling balls. The Idols are much smoother, whether it’s the earlier and smoother reading Idol or the slightly later and more angular but still smooth Idol Pro. You really couldn’t replace those shapes with the Rubicon. They are totally different beasts.
Sean is back and testing the Rubicon. Sean obviously has a higher rev rate but more importantly able to control his axis rotation a bit better in testing. With that said, the Rubicon looked phenomenal for him. Here’s a bit of a conundrum. In the past, Sean is typically not that guy to like big strong asyms. They tend to be too much and unnecessarily difficult to keep pushing through the heads while destroying the pattern. So he tends to be comfortable with pearl asyms and his favorite right now is the Storm AstroPhysix. With that said, it wasn’t hard for him to get this ball down lane and it had a defined move yet somehow smooth enough to be continuous and readable. It reminded me of an Alpha Crux where he can just push it down there and he knows it’s going to make it back. He had a great look and he can get deep without losing hit. 4th arrow, no problem. He also tested the more direct shot say around 7 to 3 or so. The Rubicon looked good for him there as well. He actually said something I hadn’t thought of but it made sense relative to his arsenal. He felt like it was a blend of his Storm Drive and AstroPhysix. It makes sense when you see it. It has the midlane read of the Drive but the downlane motion of the asymmetric AstroPhysix. Where the Drive was almost too continuous and was jumping, the Rubicon stopped just enough. And it doesn’t quite push like the Astro can, it has the angular shape it can create.
Sport Shot
Coming soon.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, I think Roto Grip has a strong contender with the Rubicon. For me, I felt like I wouldn’t instantly think I need anything stronger than the Rubicon, placing it in the Strong Defined category. So what happens to the UFO in my bag? Not sure yet. For Sean, it probably fits in there as well but ultimately looks very usable. It’s the kind of ball he can use to start a block on the tougher sport shots we face. For the history buffs, will you cross the Rubicon?